Berkeley’s Donkey & Goat Winery takes a natural approach

The exterior of Berkeley’s Donkey and Goat Winery is urban in the extreme. Its entrance sits behind steel doors in a concrete tilt-up building on Fourth Street, and the front door looks out on a parking lot. Interstate 80 is less than 1,000 feet away.

But inside, the eight-year old winery is a throwback to another era. There is not a stainless steel or plastic fermentation tank in sight. Instead, stacks of old wooden French barrels rise 15 feet into the air. Two massive 1,600-gallon tanks made from Hungarian wood dominate a corner of the winery.

“We ferment all of our wine in wood – white, red, rose,”explains Jared Brandt, 40, who started Donkey and Goat in 2003 with his wife, Tracey, 41. “I like the way wood breathes during fermentation. It is a natural insulator.”

Jared Brandt of Donkey & Goat takes a barrel sample

The Brandts’ emphasis on natural extends to their wine making. They are part of a new breed of vintners who tinker with their wine as little as possible, preferring that grapes and terroir, rather than designer yeasts and processing, determine a wine’s flavor.

“For us we are interested in letting the wine speak for itself with as little intervention as possible,” said Brandt.

The Brandts’ emphasis on natural wine making – which even has its own manifesto – is drawing attention. In January, the San Francisco Chronicle’s wine writer, Jon Bonne, named the Brandts as one of his top five winemakers to watch in 2011, writing they were “starting to redefine the standards of California wine.”